Biomedical subjects

Kyle J Frantz

Publications and source records attributed to Kyle J Frantz.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Behavioral and neurochemical responses to cocaine in periadolescent and adult rats.

Although recreational drug use by human adolescents is a well-known and long-standing problem, relatively little is known regarding differences in behavioral and physiological responses to abused substances in adolescent vs adult animals. The present study compared effects of the psychomotor stimulant, cocaine, in periadolescent (postnatal days 37-52) and adult (postnatal days 75-90) male Wistar rats. Locomotion and motor stereotypy were recorded after acute and repeated cocaine injections (0, 10, or 20 mg/kg cocaine, intraperitoneal (i.p.), four injections spaced 5 days apart). Spontaneous acquisition of intravenous (i.v.) cocaine self-administration was investigated in two dose groups ( approximately 0.37 or 0.74 mg/kg/infusion) over 14 days. Dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens were recorded under basal conditions (no net flux method) and after cocaine administration ( approximately 0.37, 0.74, and 2.92 mg/kg/i.v. infusion or 20 mg/kg i.p.) using in vivo microdialysis. The locomotor data are in partial agreement with previous reports of hyposensitivity to acute cocaine in periadolescent vs adult rats; periadolescents were less active overall than adults. Moreover, adult rats exhibited significant locomotor sensitization after repeated injection of 10 mg/kg cocaine, whereas periadolescents required the high dose of 20 mg/kg cocaine to demonstrate sensitization. Neither age group showed sensitization of motor stereotypies. No age-related difference was observed in acquisition of cocaine self-administration, or in basal or cocaine-stimulated nucleus accumbens dopamine. These experiments imply a developmental dissociation between the motor activating and reinforcing effects of cocaine. Similarities in dopamine levels across age groups suggest that age-specific motor responses to cocaine are not mediated by dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2006

Brains Rule!: a model program for developing professional stewardship among neuroscientists.

Brains Rule! Neuroscience Expositions, funded through a National Institute on Drug Abuse Science Education Drug Abuse Partnership Award, has developed a successful model for informal neuroscience education. Each Exposition is a "reverse science fair" in which neuroscientists present short neuroscience teaching modules to students. This study focuses on results of assessments conducted with neuroscientist presenters during Expositions at two sites, Atlanta, Georgia and Corpus Christi, Texas. The effects of participating in the Expositions on presenters' perceptions of their own presentation and communication skills were evaluated, as was the potential for increased active participation by neuroscientists in future outreach programs. In four of the five Expositions studied, pre- versus post-event surveys demonstrated significant changes in presenters' perceptions of their own abilities to explain neuroscience concepts to children. Over the course of an Exposition, presenters learned to fit their approaches to conveying neuroscience concepts to fifth through eighth graders and learned to link information they presented about the brain and nervous system to children's past experiences to improve comprehension. The present data suggest that Brains Rule! Neuroscience Expositions are effective in improving communication and teaching skills among neuroscience professionals and contribute to professional stewardship by increasing motivation to participate in future informal education programs.

Brain↗

PubMed2006

Routes to research for novice undergraduate neuroscientists.

Undergraduate students may be attracted to science and retained in science by engaging in laboratory research. Experience as an apprentice in a scientist's laboratory can be effective in this regard, but the pool of willing scientists is sometimes limited and sustained contact between students and faculty is sometimes minimal. We report outcomes from two different models of a summer neuroscience research program: an Apprenticeship Model (AM) in which individual students joined established research laboratories, and a Collaborative Learning Model (CLM) in which teams of students worked through a guided curriculum and then conducted independent experimentation. Assessed outcomes included attitudes toward science, attitudes toward neuroscience, confidence with neuroscience concepts, and confidence with science skills, measured via pre-, mid-, and postprogram surveys. Both models elevated attitudes toward neuroscience, confidence with neuroscience concepts, and confidence with science skills, but neither model altered attitudes toward science. Consistent with the CLM design emphasizing independent experimentation, only CLM participants reported elevated ability to design experiments. The present data comprise the first of five yearly analyses on this cohort of participants; long-term follow-up will determine whether the two program models are equally effective routes to research or other science-related careers for novice undergraduate neuroscientists.

Female↗

PubMed2004

The human HPLC column: "minds-on" neuroscience for the next generation.

Science education researchers have suggested that neuroscientists can play an important role in science education programs for adolescents by creating "minds-on" teaching and learning modules for scientists and teachers to use in classrooms. Effective educational partnerships between teachers and visiting scientists not only ignite student interest but also provide opportunities for scientist and teacher professional development. The aim of the present teaching module was threefold: (1) to introduce adolescents to the acute neurochemical effects of psychomotor stimulant drugs and their analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), (2) to spur maturation of analytical reasoning skills among adolescents, and (3) to spark enthusiasm for science education.

Adolescent↗